No Doubt About It: Roe v. Wade Must Go, But What Happens Then?

South Dakota fired a massive broadside at the foundation of abortion rights (namely, the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision) in the form of a ban on most abortions. Mississippi and Tennessee appeared poised to follow suit. Good for them.

It should be noted that should South Dakota achieve victory and Roe is overturned by the Supreme Court, abortion will not end.

Rather, it would go back to the state level and each state would decide what it's laws on abortion would be, which is the way it should be. The federal government should stay out of this. If a state wishes to ban abortion, that's it's business.

Now, some are questioning whether the Religious Right would maintain it's strength and cohesion should their primary goal be achieved: the overturn of Roe v. Wade, or if it's strength as a national force would disappear as it focused on individual state campaigns to ban abortion.

They shouldn't be.

While it's very likely that the anti-abortion crowd will focus on banning abortions in as many states as possible, the Religious Right as a national movement isn't going anywhere.

The last time I checked, stem cell research, displaying the Ten Commandments and Nativity scenes on public property, preserving "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegience and "In God We Trust" on our currency, intelligent design, prayer in schools and creationism vs. evolution are a very long way away from being decided. Plus there's a war on.

Just because abortion would disappear from the national stage should Roe be overturned, that is no reason to believe that the Religious Right would go away, as some commentators have said they think would happen.

There will be lengthy court battles in many states which will end up in state Supreme Courts. Then there will be appeals in federal courts. Two questions: will the Supreme Court accept another abortion case based on those lawsuits, and what role will activist judges play in legislating from the bench? The courts will be tied up for years deciding all of these issues.

Roe's days are numbered, God be Praised, but the fight will really intensify when it does finally fall. The end of Roe will be the beginning of a messy new fight. Red and blue state maps will not apply as some states will quickly go one direction on legislating abortion, others will go the opposite direction, while others will duke it out in their state legislatures, in the offices of the various governors, in the courts, and out in the streets.

It'll be a huge mess.